


Strangers Starting Out on a Journey

by orphan_account



Category: Anastasia (1997), Frozen (2013)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Movie Fusion, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Complicated Relationships, Crossover, F/M, Falling In Love, First Love, POV First Person, Temporary Amnesia, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-28
Updated: 2014-11-30
Packaged: 2018-02-27 07:19:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2684153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ella doesn't remember who she is or where she came from. She only assumes her name is Ella because that's what people have always called her. She doesn't have any link to her past, and she doesn't really care. She just wants out her current predicament.<br/>Hans has a reputation for being a con man. Lately, he's been trying to find the perfect girl to play Princess Elsa, a princess who's been lost for ten years. She's been thought to be dead, but popular rumor's say she's still alive.<br/>Ella wants to travel, and Hans and his companion, Kristoff, just so happen to still need a person to play the Princess. Judging by Ella's striking similar appearance to the Princess, they let her come along. Both Hans and Ella don't ever think that this journey could lead to more, though. What if Ella ends up really wanting to find her family? And what if Hans doesn't want to depart from Ella when it's all said and done?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I hadn't realized this posted. I thought I just saved it. I'm sorry if you've read and thought it was done. It wasn't. Please forgive me, I'm new here. 
> 
> I decided to have Elsa be known as Ella because Anastasia was known as Anya throughout the movie, and I figured it worked. :) 
> 
> I didn't want to have this be _exactly_ like the movie, Anastasia so I decided to change some of minor things, and the ending. I really like the ending of the original movie, but I had no clue who Elsa was going to fight in the ending scene, and this is a Helsa fic, so it can't really be Hans. 
> 
> Finally, this is kind of my first fic-especially my first alternate fic. I would love feedback and be open to be as brutally honest as possible. I apologize for any typos/mistakes throughout. I try to proofread it, but I sometimes miss a few things. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy! :)

"Ella!" my "mother" calls as she climbs the steps. Why she made us call her "mother", I'll never know. I didn't know much about mothers, but I knew that she was no where close to one. "It's your lucky day." 

"And how is that?" I ask, staring up at her, my sponge soaking wet in my hand. 

"You get to go work at a real job!" She answers with fake enthusiasm as she pulls me up by the my elbow. I drop the sponge. "And it's about time! You're eighteen for Christ's sake!" She's tugging me down the steps and out the door. My brain still hadn't time to process this. It wasn't because I was leaving the orphanage to work, I was leaving, period. It was a day I had been waiting for my entire life. 

"Well," I say as we reach the door, "I think I can take it from here." She lets go of my arm and I rub where she had held me. Her grip had been tight. 

"It's straight down," she instructs, "when you get to the fork in the road, take a left." 

"Okay," I reply, "good-bye." I barely make it out the door before I feel her tug again. 

"Ella, don't you dare screw this up." For the first time, she sounds genuinely concerned, "Your sass will get you nowhere. This is your one chance, embrace it." 

"Okay," I sound more sincere this time, really listening to what she was saying, since it wasn't delivered in a condescending tone. 

"Good-bye, Ella, and good luck," she pushes me outside, going back to her original attitude. The attitude I had spent ten years with. I hear the door slam and I turn back and give it one last smile. 

* * *

"Alright," I say to myself, afterall I was alone on this snow covered street. "at the fork in the road, turn left." 

 _Westergaard's Shipping District._ Ugh. I didn't want to spend the rest of my days in a shipping yard, I didn't even like fish. 

 _Arendelle._ The kingdom had always haunted my dreams. What was it like? But, Arendelle was right...and I was supposed to go left. 

Unless...

No, I couldn't. Not because Mother told me to go left, but because what if nothing lie in Arendelle? What if I go right and waste my life? 

What if I go left and hate the rest of my life? Was my safety worth more than my happiness? 

"I wish there was a sign!" I yell out in confusion, "Something, anything, telling me which way to go!" I sat down on a snow bank and buried my head in my hands. 

I had planned  _my whole life_ around the day I would leave the orphanage and do my own thing, not once did I consider doing what Mother said, but now I was here. 

I was here, sitting at a crossroads, with something wet and cold touching my bare hand. I looked up to see a small dog sniffing me. 

"You lost, too?" I ask, picking him up and setting him up on my lap. He joyfully starts licking my face and I can't help but laugh. "So I take that as a yes? Where do you think I should go?" The dog leaps from my lap and heads right towards Arendelle. I laugh again, thinking I'm crazy, but I get up anyway and start to follow him. 

"I hope you're right." I say to the pup as we start down the long road. But something in me said that the dog hadn't made the decision by himself. 

* * *

 The kingdom was alive. I hadn't remembered seeing so many people in one place in my whole life. People rushed past me left and right. I held the dog in my arms so he couldn't get lost. 

"Excuse me," I call but my voice sounded more like a whisper. "Excuse me!" One woman finally noticed me and pulled me off to the side of the road. 

"Oh! Thank you!" I say, sighing with relief, "Could you tell me where I can find a place to stay for the night? I'm new here and it just occured to me that I need a place to stay." 

"Try the abandoned palace," she whispered in my ear, "nobody's been there in years. It's just down the road, and huge! You'll know it when you see it." Something in me said that she wasn't given me this place off the top of her head and the awe in her eyes didn't help. I went with it, though. I needed a place and it was free. 

"Thank you so much!" I say, pecking her cheek eagerly, "You're a lifesaver!" I smile and wave as I leave. 

* * *

 The woman was right, the palace was huge...and dusty. I cough as I break down one of the boards barricading the door. The dog jumped in afterwards. I still hadn't picked a name for him yet, but I had thoughts.  _Did he already have a name?_  

 I surveyed my surroundings. Beneath the dust lied antique dishes and elegant drapery. The place was dimly lit and eerie. I felt haunted by the air-everything seemed so familiar. 

I climbed a grand staircase and saw a massive portrait of a family right before my eyes. They're eyes stone cold and their poses stiff. I noticed one of the little girls looked exactly like me. I brush away anyway thoughts of her  _actually_ being me. Besides, I wasn't looking for my family anyway. I still looked at it though, until I heard perplexed whispers behind me. It startled the dog before he started barking. 

"Hey!" I scorn picking the dog up in my arms. By then, two men were already rampaging towards me. "Time to go." I whisper in fear, picking up my own feet. 

"Wait!" I hear one yell, his voice urgent. "Please! We don't mean any harm." I stop, giving them seconds to do so also. I turn and look at them. One had blonde hair and a big nose, the other, jade eyes and perfect sideburns.

"Look," I say defensively, "I was told nobody was in here. I'm just looking for a place to stay for the night." 

"Oh, we know, why else would anybody come here?" the one with the green eyes says, "But, we've been looking for you." My dog had now apparently became the blonde's. He was in his lap and licking him like a lollipop. 

"I'm sorry, what?" I ask, now confused.  He lets out a small chuckle before responding.

"Well, not you  _you_ -but  _her._ " he says, pointing to a new portrait on the wall. My identical little princess stood next who I could only assume was her sister. It just so happened that he wasn't pointing at the sister. "Or, at least someone who could be her. I know it sounds odd, but me and-" he pauses and turns to his partner, gives my dog a look of disgust, and turns back to me, "-my partner both agree that you and her share striking similarities." 

"Well, anybody can see that." I tell him, "She isn't me, though. I don't remember anything from my past." 

"Then how do you know you couldn't be her? And besides we aren't looking for her...we're looking for somebody to be her." he sounded like a stressed man who had just received a miracle and would do anything to keep it. He also talked with his hands a lot. 

"For what?" I ask, crossing my arms. 

"If we return the princess to her family-"

"Yeah, no," I interrupt, "I am not interested in finding a family."

"Don't you want to know who they are?" The blonde finally chimes.

"No." I answer. The man with the miracle buried his head in his hands. The blonde had gone back to playing with the dog. We all stand in silence for a minute before I finally give the little girl on last look. 

"Fine," I say silently, "I'll do it. But only because this family is somewhere else and I want to travel. I'm Ella, by the way."

"Ella?" the man questions, looking up. "You're names are practically the same!" 

"What's hers?" 

"Elsa." 

"And yours?" 

"Hans," he replies, sticking out his hand. I shake it. "And that's Kristoff." He gestures to the man behind him. 

"Well, Hans, what are we waiting for?" He leads to the exit and I nod for the dog to join. 

"Oh no," Hans insists, "The dogs stays." 

"No, the dog's coming." 

"Does it even have a name?" 

"I think I'm going to call him Sven." Judging by his smile and the leap in his step, I can tell Sven likes his name. 


	2. Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella, Hans, Kristoff, and Sven continue their journey to Paris-where Elsa's family currently resides

"Who is Anna?" Kristoff asked. My focus was more on keeping the book atop my head. Hans and Kristoff had taught me  _everything_ I needed to know about Elsa's lineage, family, and life on the boat. Now we were travelling throughout Germany, on our way to Paris. 

Paris, could you believe it? 

"Elsa's younger sister," I answer, sticking out my arms just in time to save the book from falling. 

"Good," Han's encourages. He's walking backwards in front of me. 

"Why is this important?" I ask, "I mean, how does this help?" 

"It's helps your balance," he says. "As a princess, everything must be perfect."  He comes and lifts my arms a tinsy bit higher. I give a small smile in response and whisper "thanks". 

"No problem." We locked eyes and I got that dizzy feeling inside. It only started recently, on the boat to be exact. Sven as almost called me out on it a couple of times, but a quick, scornful look shuts him up. Yet, looking in his eyes, I think I can see the same feeling in him. 

"Ella...?" Kristoff calls. 

"Yeah," I reply, refocusing. 

"What supposedly happened to Elsa that made people think she died?" 

"Easy," I say, not needing a moment to think about it, "she was thought to be executed after the Duke of Weselton accused her of possessing witchcraft. Which is crazy, especially for a ten-year-old. And, people think she escaped through the servants corridors after a kitchen boy helped her."  I walk past Hans, who has completely stopped in his tracks. I was finally able to walk without my arms up. I had walked few more steps before I turn and notice both men were at a standstill. Sven was sniffing Hans's pants, and he didn't even notice. I remove the book from my head and walk back to them. 

"What? Was I wrong?" I placed the book atop Kristoff's pile he was carrying. 

"No," Hans says, stunned, "you're completely right." 

"Then what's the hold up? We have a train to catch!" 

* * *

"Kristoff," Hans musters, "I don't think you get, she is the princess." I'm in the small bathroom in our cabin on the train, putting on an icy blue dress that Hans had bought. 

"This is great! She'll finally get to meet her family, then." he replies. 

"She doesn't want that, remember?" 

"She must have known that if she passed, she'd stay." I did, actually. If there was one thing I had learned from this trip, it was that I  _did_ want to know my family. It was the only thing I wanted. I take my bleach blonde hair out of it's updo and it's curls flow down my black. I go to untie the black headband behind my bangs, but I can't. It was the only thing from my past. Besides, it didn't look bad with the dress and my black boots. I get ready to step out, but their whispers stop me. 

"Look, Hans," I hear Kristoff explain, "she gets the family and we get the money, it's a win-win." Money?  _This was for money._ They didn't care about me, or that family. They cared about the money they'd get out of it. All of the lessons were brought to a different light. I was taught to play the perfect princess. 

Then again,  _that's what I agreed to do._ I buried my head in my hands and fell to the floor, my back against the door. 

"This isn't about the money anymore, Kristoff. I probably won't even take it." Hans admits, "I just want Ella to be happy. And it looks like she will be." 

"Hans? The notorious con man? Doesn't want money?" 

"No. She's Elsa, she knew what really happened. We didn't tell her that. Nobody knows about that but me.  _I was the kitchen boy._ " I look up. My hands were subconsciously now braiding my hair.  _  
_

"I don't want her to leave either, it's the last thing actually." Hans finishes, "But it's what she wants." The train stops and I quickly unravel my braided hair.

* * *

"Kristoff!" Anna screams as soon as she opens the door. She runs up to hug him. "What a surprise! So, have you found her?" Judging by the look of pure joy in his eyes, I guessed that he loved her. 

"I think so," he says, brushing the back of his head nervously. 

"He knows so," Hans says. 

"Who is this." Anna says gesturing to Hans. I don't think she noticed me behind the two. I was kind of glad. 

"Oh, I hired him. He's really good at finding people. Ella?" He moves over a bit, revealing me. Anna's jaw drops and she smiles. 

"It is you!" she runs up and hugs me. It takes me a minute, but I return it. 

"At least, we'll know once you answer a few questions." 

* * *

I answered every question.

"Okay!" Anna says after I finished the last question, "One final question. The night before your "execution", what did you say to me?" I could see that Hans and Kristoff were just as caught off-guard as I was. Then, it came to me. I finally remembered everything. Hans's striking green eyes never faded while he grew up. Anna still had the optimism of a small child, even though she was a year younger than me. I remembered Mother's brunette hair, even darker than Sven's, and Father's kind eyes. I remembered what I said. 

"Anna, I won't let them hurt you." A brave thing for a ten-year-old to say, but I meant it. The Duke had horrid plans of testing Anna for my "witchcraft". 

"But, they did, didn't they?" I asked. Anna's eyes were swelling with tears. She shook her head no, and she hugged me. It was a feeling I had missed for years. 

"How did you lose your memory?" Kristoff blurts, fully aware that it had come back. 

"I only remember running, and then falling. Maybe I hit my head?" 

"Who cares." Anna said, getting up, "We have you back, I'm going to go tell Mom and Dad!"

"I should probably go." Hans says after Anna leaves. "I have no business staying." He gets up and walks toward the exit. 

"Hans, wait!" I say, going after him. He turns to face me and I kiss him. At first, he's taken aback, but soon enough he has his arms around me. 

"What was that for?" he asks as he pulls away. 

"Remember that one time I snuck into the kitchen, and you were peeling potatoes?" I smile, "I started talking to you, and we talked for an hour before a maid came looking for me. Do you remember the last thing you said to me?" 

"One day," he starts, suddenly remembering, "you're going to kiss me." 

"That's a bold thing to say to a princess." I tease. "But, I blushed and whispered 'okay'." 

"Is that all?" he asks. We both are ignoring the awkward Kristoff still sitting in the middle of the room. 

"No," I reply, taking his hands in mine, "because one day, you're going to stay, and we are going to talk again." 

"I take it that today is that day?" he asks, smiling. 

"Please?" 

"Okay." 

And with that, Hans stayed, I finally saw my parents again, Anna was introduced to Sven, and we all lived happily ever after. 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to thank everyone who has read this. It's definitely on of my rougher works...
> 
> I decided to change this to two parts, because I could finish it today, before I go back to school. :) 
> 
> (Psst... and there is a homage to one of my favorite books in there. Hehe.) 
> 
> Again, I also apologize for any mistakes/typos throughout the work, and your feedback is greatly appreciated. :) 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! :)


End file.
